What is the summer slide? And what can be done to stop it.

Let’s be honest. Both students and parents look forward to summer break. The frenetic rush of the school day schedule is grueling: wake up, pack lunches or ensure everyone has lunch money, homework complete and in backpacks (or digitally turned in), acceptable clothes on (at least the shirt if virtual learning is happening), and everyone in the car to make it to school on time. Rinse and repeat 180 times!

Everyone deserves time to take a deep breath and enjoy a little downtime. But too much downtime can pose problems: the summer slide.

What is it? The summer slide is a regression of academics over the summer months due to lack of reading and math practice. According to a study conducted by NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association), students in 3^rd-5^th grade lost about 20 percent of their school-year gains in reading and 27 percent of their school-year gains in math during summer break. For slightly older students in 7^th grade, the numbers are even more troubling: 36 percent in reading and 50 percent in math.

Statistics vary by student population. Children from low-income families tend to regress more than their middle class and upper middle class peers due to lack of opportunities and access to quality summer programs. Also younger children from any background in kindergarten through 2^nd grade tend to lose more because they are simply asked to learn more.

The good news: there are many things a student can do to not only avoid the summer slide but can actually continue to think, learn, and grow over the summer. Many are free or inexpensive.

What it takes to avoid the summer slide

In simplest terms kids need to read over the summer and work with numbers. And it doesn’t take much to keep skills sharp. According to research by Colorado State University, reading only four or five books over the summer is enough to prevent an academic reading regression.

Math is another story. Research from Harvard University reveals that giving kids math worksheets is not an effective method for avoiding a summer slide. It takes a more integrated approach. Read on to learn a few fun ways to sneak math into your kids’ summer routines.

Strategies to incorporate reading

• Let kids choose to what to read. Graphic novels like Diary of a Wimpy Kid are great choices over the summer.
  
• Read aloud to your kids. This improves listening comprehension – (every teacher will thank you!) and it builds critical background knowledge that your child can use to make connections to other texts they read.
  
• Sign your kid(s) up for a reading challenge. In Central Florida the Orange County Public Library has a summer reading program aimed at children of all ages. Click on the link for more information.
  
• The Scholastic book company has its own online reading program. Click on the link for details: https://kids.scholastic.com/kids/games/.
  
• Let your kids explore apps and websites. We Are Teachers has an excellent list of the best 25 reading apps with descriptions of each.
  
• Take a virtual field trip. With COVID-19 still a concern, the Internet allows the educational world to come to you. Good Housekeeping has an extensive list of possible destinations including Colonial Williamsburg and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Strategies to incorporate math

Do not forget math. Often times parents understandably focus on reading but overlook the importance of keeping math skills sharp over the summer. As the Harvard research referenced above states, simply handing your child a worksheet will not produce gains nor reduce loss. It takes a more thoughtful approach.

Children with learning differences need more creative ways to stimulate their interest and curiosity. ADDitude Magazine, which focuses on children with ADHD, has a great list of suggestions on how to creatively incorporate math into summer.

• Set up an old-fashioned lemonade stand. Mixing the lemonade requires measurement and working with fractions. And of course selling the product requires handling money and making change.
  
• Incorporate sports. The next time you go to a game or watch one on TV – which ever sport it is – ask your child to keep score or track a player’s stats. How many points has he or she scored? How many total yards has a player gained? What is a player’s batting average?
  
• Plant a garden. Gardening requires a bunch of calculations such as depth of planting the seeds and required spacing between them, frequency and amount of watering, and how and when to harvest the bounty.
  
• Errand estimation. The next time you go out to run errands in the car, ask your child to estimate how far the store is in miles and how long it will take to get there. After arriving at the destination, check on the estimates and compare to the actual distance and time it took. If you have a second location to go to, repeat and challenge your child to be closer with his or her estimate than the last one.
  
• Play math games. Games like Monopoly, Yahtzee, and Racko all require calculating with numbers, categorizing information, and using strategy to win.

Conclusion

The Summer Slide is real and affects different students in different ways. It is safe to say that any child that does not read or work with numbers over the summer will regress and lose some academic gains made during the school year. The good news is that are many fun ways for students to get in some reading and handling of numbers over the summer.

While parents and students look forward to a more relaxed schedule during the summer, incorporating some reading and math is essential for students to continue to grow. If you have any questions about how to avoid the Summer Slide, please contact Jennifer Disch at Engage the Brain.

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Why do parents choose to homeschool? And what are some traditional and nontraditional approaches to the practice?

To homeschool or not to homeschool, that is a colossal question. Ask ten homeschool parents why they made the decision and you will likely get ten different responses. And just as varied as the reasons for homeschooling are the approaches, curriculum, and classroom settings.

Further, a growing number of families have tackled this question. According to the NHERI (National Homeschool Education Research Institute) some 2.5 million students or 3% to 4% of school age children were homeschooled in 2019, before the pandemic sent most every student scurrying back to the safety of their home to learn virtually.

But as education as a whole and students in particular begin to emerge from the pandemic, it is fair to ask what a post-pandemic idyllic education setting might look like. Some students thrived, learning virtually without the structure or need for a physical school or rigid school schedule. However, most other students flailed miserably without face-to-face learning and a live teacher in the room to guide lessons and thoughtfully tackle nuanced learning styles. Those students with a learning difference suffered the most.

One can safely predict that families opting to homeschool will increase, even once all schools return to in-person instruction. According to the Federation for Children, a national survey conducted in 2020 revealed that over 40% of parents would consider some version of homeschooling once the pandemic ends.

Benefits and Drawbacks to Homeschooling

To repeat, there are many reasons a parent may choose to homeschool. Running the calculus of benefits to drawbacks can help decide.

Benefits

• Customize or individualize the curriculum and learning environment for each child
• Accomplish more academically than in schools
• Use pedagogical approaches other than those typical in institutional schools
• Enhance family relationships between children and parents and among siblings
• Provide guided and reasoned social interactions with youthful peers and adults

Drawbacks

Middle School Net does a nice job of listing some disadvantages that parents should consider.

Time

When parents take the responsibility of educating their children at home, they may need to set aside time to make it work.

Cost

In comparison to public schools, where education is free, homeschooling can be costly. Purchasing the newest curriculum and teaching tools can be expensive.

Socialization

Homeschooled children may not have as many opportunities to interact with other children in comparison to children who attend regular schools.

Patience

One of the reasons why homeschooling can be bad is the fact that parents may lose patience when they are trying to educate their children.

Deciding to homeschool is a difficult decision. Gathering information can help parents make the correct choice for their individual family.

Curriculum Choices

If you have decided that homeschooling is a possibility for your family, then you are going to need curriculum. Think about your child’s/children’s age(s), strengths, interests, and areas of need. Studies show that all students benefit from a combination of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic approaches to learning, as well as direct instruction in new concepts. Perhaps you will choose to combine pre-written curricula for skills instruction with project-based opportunities for real-world application. The beauty of homeschooling is that these decisions can be tailored to your child’s needs, strengths, and interests. 

Who is going to be teaching? You the parent or someone else? What is your/their preferred teaching style?

What is your budget? Homeschool curriculums can be expensive! There are physical books and online options.

How to Homeschool has an extensive list of curriculum options, which we recommend you check out.

Hybrid Homeschool Options

Of course not all homeschooled students study exclusively in their homes. Some parents take of advantage of local hybrid programs. One such option in the Central Florida area is the North Park Learning Group run by Engage the Brain. Here students join learning specialists who lead a variety of enrichment classes spanning language arts, math, science, and art. Hannah Hartman, who is the program director, said: “A hybrid homeschool program provides elements of both home education and a traditional school setting.  Students and parents benefit from the knowledge and expertise of an experienced teacher who can help guide each individual student’s progress.”

An added benefit of attending a hybrid program is parental help with student assessment. Hartman added: “Their hybrid teacher can provide progress monitoring, help parents with curriculum, keep grades, and give general feedback about student progress.” She went on to say that “at home” days can be spent focusing on work, taking field trips, or participating in extracurricular activities.

Conclusion

The connotation of homeschooling has changed. The pandemic has accelerated the notion that “school” does not need to be a brick and mortar location. Technologies like Zoom and learning management systems such as Canvas have provided parents and students with different options for school. Add in hybrid programs that combine the best of both home and school and parents have a veritable smorgasbord of educational settings to pick from.

If you are considering homeschooling and have questions or would like to discuss curriculum options, please contact Jennifer Disch at Engage the Brain.

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Strategies to develop a healthy self-care routine for children

People are struggling.

It has been almost a year since the United States shut down due to the pandemic. Work from home and school from home became the new normal. Weeks progressed from Monday to Tuesday to Wednesday to Blursday. Work-life and school-life balance broke into unrecognizable pieces. Even the most seemingly “put-together” adults have struggled at times with the new “normal.”

If those confident and well-adjusted adults have combated some demons, then how are kids doing?

Children, as a whole, tend to be resilient. But their lives have been turned upside down and the major milestones that mark the progression of youth – birthdays, graduations, and family celebrations – have been nuked by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the CDC, 7.1% (4.4 million) of children aged 3-17 suffer from anxiety and 3.2% (1.9 million) battle depression. These statistics are from before the pandemic! Clearly these numbers have sharply increased over the past 12 months. While one need not be Sherlock Holmes to determine why the numbers are growing, a complex array of factors such as the uncertainty to when this all ends, extended social isolation, and parental angst about jobs and providing for their families certainly contribute.

Defining Self-Care

The word “vaccine” has entered our daily conversations. Self-care gurus have described the practice of self-care as a vaccination for your soul. The WHO (World Health Organization) defines it this way: “the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider.” For children, they need our help to establish a healthy self-care routine. An article in Parents states that setting up proper self-care routines can prevent future anxiety and depression in children.

Self-Care Strategies

Create a routine

Routines provide security and predictability. Help your child establish a consistent wake up and bedtime. If your child is learning from home, it is critical to set up a school day schedule. Have your child follow a typical school day schedule with built-in lunch and brain breaks. After school include time to complete chores and provide a “slow down” time when computers and phones are off. For more tips on remote learning, check out this article.

Exercise

Exercise has so many benefits. The simple act of going outside can reduce depression. One need not run or bike or engage in high intensity activities to reap the benefits of exercise, though those endeavors can get your endorphins popping, which are the “feel good” brain waves. The CDC suggests 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per day for children. Even going for a 20-minute walk can change your whole attitude.

Frederick Law Olmsted, the famous landscape architect who designed Central Park in New York City, said, “The enjoyment of scenery employs the mind without fatigue and yet exercises it; tranquilizes it and yet enlivens it; and thus, through the influence of the mind over the body gives the effect of refreshing rest and reinvigoration to the whole system.” In other words, get the kids outside!

Express Yourself

Encouraging children to appropriately express themselves through writing, art, or music has many therapeutic benefits. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, listening to music engages the neocortex part of the brain, which reduces stress and lowers impulsivity. So jam out! Additionally, keeping a journal or encouraging drawing can help children process their feelings. Teach children emotion-related words so they can put a name to their feelings. Find out what expression method works for your child.

Yoga Practice and Meditation

Quieting the mind can be challenging during a pandemic. The sensationalized news and ever-present social media certainly can add rocket fuel to our uncertain and airport-busy minds. What is the antidote? Establishing a yoga routine that includes meditation can do wonders to settle the frazzled mind. In fact it builds physical, emotional, and mental strength. According to the Selmar Institute of Education, children with ADHD who learned meditation and practiced regularly had better concentration and experienced a decrease in hyperactive outbursts. Yoga and meditation promote mindfulness, which is the practice of focusing on the present moment. Chopra offers three mediations geared for children, and this You Tube video can get you started with some yoga poses.

Focus on Sleep

Sleep is a critical ingredient in self-care. According to Health Psych, sleep is crucial for learning, performance, and mental health. And it starts with a consistent and early bedtime. The same Health Psych article states that the hours of sleep before midnight lends them to deeper non-REM sleep, which provides your child with higher levels of concentration the next day. Even teenagers need a sold 9 hours of sleep. Prioritize sleep!

Conclusion

Self-care is more important than ever during a pandemic. Helping your child establish healthy and appropriate self-care strategies will set them up for success in their adult lives. Create a consistent routine, encourage exercise and outdoor activity, channel your child’s emotions in artistic expression, slow down and adopt a yoga and meditation practice, and prioritize sleep. With so much darkness and uncertainty swirling around, adopting self-care strategies will allow you and your child to safely arrive in the light once the pandemic ends.

At Engage the Brain we encourage our students and families to practice good life skills. Self-care leads to healthy bodies and brains.  

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Students are more anxious than ever. What to look for and strategies to mange anxiety.

The COVID-19 pandemic has seismically altered the education landscape. Most schools offer a variety of learning options: in the physical classroom, virtual school, or some version of a hybrid-learning environment with students in their homes using computers to log into the day’s lessons. Most students have participated in more than one of these delivery options during the past year.

Couple in all the unknowns floating around – How long will the pandemic last? When will I get the vaccine? Will I still remember how to socialize appropriately in a group setting? And when will things return to normal? – and it is a recipe for anxious thoughts and behaviors.

Many students are struggling to manage their anxious thoughts. 1 in every 8 students has anxiety, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) and 80% of children with anxiety and 60% of children with depression are not receiving treatment.

And these numbers are before the pandemic hit! One can imagine these statistics have grown exponentially over the past year.

Types of Anxiety

The Child Mind Institute does a good job of describing the different types of anxiety a student may wrestle with:

Separation: A child is worried about separating from a parent or caregiver.

Social: A student is excessively self-conscious during interactions with peers.

Selective mutism: A child has a difficult time speaking in some settings, such as the classroom.

Generalized: The student worries about a wide variety of every day things.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): The child’s mind is filled with unwanted and stressful thoughts. To alleviate the anxiety, the child engages in compulsive behaviors like washing their hands.

Specific phobias: These are excessive irrational fears of particular things such as the dark or being left alone.

Any one of these types of anxiety can affect classroom behavior, academic performance, and or social interactions. Ken Schuster, PsyD says “anxiety locks up the brain, making school hard for anxious kids.”

How Anxiety Might Impact a Student

No matter the type of anxiety a student is struggling with, it will affect their ability to learn. Anxiety in the Classroom describes three ways:

1. Difficulty taking in information – a student may have difficulty paying attention to what needs to be learned.

2. Information is not processed properly – students only receive a surface level understanding of material because their cognitive abilities are over-taxed.

3. Information is not stored in long-term memory – If a student cannot recall previously learned information, they will not do well on exams.

If a student cannot focus in class, is not learning all of the intended lessons, and is not storing any of the material, then clearly the student will exhibit some anxious behaviors.

What Anxiety Looks Like in the Classroom

Anxiety can present itself in any number of ways. In fact, it often “looks” like something else, such as ADHD. Some common behaviors:

• student is easily agitated
• asks repetitive questions
• complains of headaches and or upset stomach
• has inconsistent attendance
• inconsistent completion of homework and or classwork

Clearly these are just a sampling of possible behaviors an anxious student may exhibit. Fortunately there are effective strategies to help a student dealing with anxiety.

How to Help an Anxious Student

The website Understood.org does a wonderful job offering resources to parents of children with learning differences. What follows are a few of their suggested accommodations that may help an anxious student.

1. Allow the student to keep a self-calming object at their seat. This could be a family photo or small stuffed animal.

2. Provide opportunities for the student to see the guidance counselor or other appropriate staff member when they are feeling anxious.

3. Give the student preferential seating in the classroom. Some children are more comfortable in the back of the room, just for example.

4. The teacher can provide a “break pass” to allow the student to walk the hall and perhaps get a drink of water.

5. The teacher can provide the student with advanced notice of transitions and any schedule changes.

6. The teacher or another staff member can check-in frequently with the student to take an “emotional temperature” check.

Phyllis Fagell, a school counselor in Washington D.C., says that some students may not know that they are anxious and that they may need help recognizing triggers and developing coping strategies.

In addition to the above strategies to help an anxious student, Fagell suggests two more techniques.

1. Use mindfulness – For example, a student can hold a small object in their hand and think of three adjectives for it. Or, they can identify all the sounds they hear in the classroom.

2. Write in a gratitude journal – The brain is incapable of producing anxious thoughts while it is producing positive thoughts stemming from gratitude. For more ideas about starting a gratitude practice, check out this article on our website.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that anxiety in students is increasing. The pandemic has magnified the amount of anxiety and the sheer number of students wrestling with it. Once a student recognizes he or she is suffering with anxious thoughts, there are many effective strategies that can help bring the brain back into a calmer state. Students who manage their anxiety are better prepared to learn and provide themselves an invaluable set of tools they can use for the rest of their lives. If you feel like your child’s learning is being impacted by anxious thoughts and are looking for guidance, please contact Engage the Brain to speak with a Learning Specialist.

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Practicing gratitude has powerful benefits. Here are 6 simple activities to start your gratitude practice.

2020 has been a quite a year. COVID-19. Lock downs. Political divisiveness. Economic uncertainty. Do we want to forget this year, or do we want to remember it and embrace the many lessons it offered?

If you look closely and listen carefully, there has been some good. The choir of Who’s are singing in Whoville and the silver bell from the Polar Express still rings for those who choose to listen.

Who can hear these elusive and encouraging sounds? People who practice gratitude are who. People whose ethos is to live mindfully and who consciously acknowledge the small opportunities to say “thank you.”

Can’t hear these tranquil vibrations because 2020 has you too overwhelmed? Let’s see how you are doing. Take this Gratitude quiz to get a sense of where you are on the gratitude scale and then read on to deepen your understanding of the importance of incorporating gratitude into your daily life.

Benefits of Practicing Gratitude

Perhaps you are asking what the big deal about gratitude is. Let’s turn to science to help with that. According to Positive Psychology, there are a variety of reasons to make gratitude a part of your daily life. Among them are:

• improved physical health
• improved sleep
• increased empathy
• enhanced self-esteem
• more social connection

Learn to be Grateful in 4 Steps

Those are the benefits. How do you learn to practice gratitude or how can you teach your child? Mindful Amazing breaks it down into 4 distinct steps:

1. Noticing – become aware of a person, place, or thing you appreciate. Did someone do something nice for you? Did someone give you something?

2. Thinking – think about why the person did something for you. Think about all the reasons you are thankful for this person or gesture.

3. Feeling – what are all the emotions you feel as a result of what you have been given? How do you feel? Happy, proud, calm?

4. Doing – how will you express your gratitude to this person? What action will you take?

Gratitude Activities

Now you know the science-based, powerful reasons to practice gratitude and have a simple 4-Step Plan to implement it. As they say on television commercials… “But wait, there’s more!” Here is a series of activities that Engage the Brain curated from around the Internet that you could do to help establish your gratitude practice.

Gratitude journal

One of the simplest and most powerful activities you can do is start and maintain a gratitude journal. Jot down what you are grateful for. If you need motivation, there are Facebook groups that you can join and post a daily gratitude statement. Members of the group encourage each other and provide sources of inspiration.

Random acts of kindness

Performing random acts of kindness can provide us with a blast of a feel good hormone, dopamine. Random can equal simple. Return a stray shopping cart to the storefront or place it in its proper holding spot in the parking lot. Hold the door for a stranger as you enter or exit a building. Offer to help an elderly neighbor with their yard work.

Gratitude jar

Place a large jar in a visible location in your home. Perhaps there is room on the kitchen counter. Next to the jar place some small note cards or index cards that have been cut in half. Each member of the family can write down something they are grateful for and place it in the jar. Ideally each person contributes daily. Establish a time when the family is all together – maybe Sunday during dinner – and read the notes. Challenge your family to keep the practice going.

Photo collage

Just about everyone 10 years old and up has a cellphone or smartphone. And just about all of them have a camera. Challenge each family member to take pictures of things they are grateful for during the week. If so inclined, create a theme for the week. Possible themes include people, places, nature, or food. Pick a night during the week that each family member can share his or her photos.

Gratitude walk

Take a walk around your neighborhood with the intention of being grateful. Activate your five senses and focus in what you see, hear, smell, feel, and if appropriate, taste. Challenge yourself to notice things you have not seen before. The color of a neighbor’s house. A flower garden on the side of a home. The sound of kids playing in a backyard.

Putting it all together

2020 has been a year. Whether its been a roller coaster, an isolation chamber, or series of starts and stops of good-intentioned self-improvement – learning a foreign language, how to play the guitar, or bake pumpernickel bread – it is safe to say everyone is exhausted and ready for the return of “normal.” As we fight back and observe safety protocols, please remember to be grateful for the good that is still there. It takes practice, but the benefits are undeniable.

Engage the Brain is grateful for our families, schools, and most importantly our students, that strive every day to do their best.

Enjoy the holiday season.

Contact us to learn more about Engage the Brain and the services we provide to build confidence and academic success.

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